ICE deports Mexican rape, murder suspect identified while serving time in California prison

SAN DIEGO — A Mexican national wanted in his home country for raping two women and fatally strangling one of them more than a decade ago was turned over Tuesday to Mexican law enforcement personnel at a San Diego-area border crossing by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Javier Diaz-Diaz, 41, aka Enrique Anaya-Velasquez, was transferred to the custody of representatives from the Mexican Attorney General's Office. In a warrant issued by authorities in the state of Jalisco in 2009, Diaz-Diaz is accused of raping two women in separate incidents. The first assault occurred in January 2002. Ten months later, Diaz-Diaz allegedly raped a second woman, then fatally strangled her and ran over her at least four times with his vehicle.

Diaz-Diaz's repatriation to Mexico came within 24 hours of his release from the California Department of Corrections (CDC) facility in Avenal where he had been serving a multi-year sentence following his 2009 conviction in Los Angeles for spousal rape. During his incarceration, Fresno-based ERO officers lodged an immigration detainer against Diaz-Diaz requesting that the CDC remand him to ICE custody upon his release. Earlier this year, representatives from the Mexican Attorney General's Office alerted ERO Fresno about the existence of the outstanding rape and murder warrant in Mexico and sought ICE's assistance to secure the suspect's return.

"This case shows yet again the vital public safety benefits of the screenings ICE does at jails and prisons nationwide," said Timothy Aitken, field office director for ERO San Francisco. "Thanks to enhanced technology and increased information sharing, it's more and more difficult for international fugitives to outrun the law – which should be reassuring for law abiding citizens on both sides of the border."

Because Department of Homeland Security databases showed Diaz-Diaz had been previously deported in 2008, ERO was able to reinstate his prior removal order paving the way for Tuesday's repatriation.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 720 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.